The Dutch DJ and producer, Armin van Buuren, talks about how music inspires him and being open-minded to other genres
That Armin van Buuren can hold people in a state of trance would be a terrible understatement. The DJ, record producer, and remixer has been doing that for 20 years the world over. This weekend, the Grammy-nominee (for his single What It Feels Like in 2014) who’s renowned for his radio show, A State of Trance (ASOT), will perform in Mumbai at the Enchanted Valley Carnival (EVC). Armin, who has six albums to his credit — including Shivers, Imagine, and Embrace — tells us about the most memorable moments in his career so far and the genres of music that he enjoys.
Keeping fans hyped
The award-winning electronic music legend has played in India before, at Sunburn (2016), Armin van Buuren Live @ ASOT 700 in 2015 and his world tour in 2013. He says that this year, he will try to play something new to keep
Indian fans excited. “That doesn’t take away the fact that EVC is going to be epic as always,” he says.
The evolution of trance music
Circa 1997, Armin’s track Blue Fear brought him his first success. Since the time he has started DJing and producing, he says that dance music wasn’t as big, give or take, a decadeago. “It has experienced immense growth in the past few years. In terms of dance music, it’s almost an entirely different world now,” he says, pointing out that compared to now, back in 2009, dance music was barely scratching the surface. He imputes the meteoric rise of dance music to the fans, who’ve been vital to the growth of the scene.
Open to other genres of music
Armin may be living electronic music and trance, but there are other genres of music that make his foot tap and head bob. He says, “Frankly, every kind of music has the potential to excite me. As long as it’s fresh and innovative, I can take something from it and turn it into an idea of my own. For me, that’s how music inspires me. I can also go crazy to a great Techno record or settle down for some classical stuff. That’s the great thing about music. No matter how you feel, there’s always some sort of musical style that fits a certain mood like a glove.” While one will usually catch him spinning tunes on his turntable, he tells us, “I play a bit of piano/keyboard too. But that doesn’t stop me from being as open-minded as I can towards other genres.”
Memorable moments
One may tire of counting all the accolades that Armin has walked away with in his two-decade-long career so far. The most-coveted Dutch award Buma Cultuur Pop Award, the Golden Gnomes’ Most Popular International DJ, featuring in the list of top DJs by DJ Mag a number of times, are just a few of them. From all these, what are the most memorable moments for the Dutchman? “Winning the DJ Mag award for No 1 DJ in the world for the first time (2007) was, of course, pretty special and so was playing The Best Of Armin Only in the Amsterdam Arena earlier this year. I can’t really say if these are the most memorable moments, but they’re definitely up there,” he says.
Going strong
Armin has a number of times talked about the passion for music and DJing. ‘If you’re born a DJ, you will die a DJ. It’s an addiction. And if it isn’t DJing, it’s making music, he had said in an interview once. The Another You composer feels that many aspiring DJs and producers today are in it “for the money instead of feeling the necessity to make the most out of their love for music. I’m not saying that this can’t work,” he says. “But I do feel that you have to love what you do in order to stay on top,” he signs off.
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